Letter from a Gold Miner
S. Shufelt was one of those gold-seekers. All that we know about Mr. Shufelt is contained in a letter
he wrote from the gold fields to his cousin in March 1850. We don't know if he struck it rich or
whether he ever returned to his wife and home - we don't even know his first name. On May 11, 1849
he boarded the steamer Panama in New York City along with about 200 fellow fortune hunters risking
all on a gamble in California. Behind him he left a wife and child in Windham, NY near the Catskills.
Mr. Shufelt reveals his motivation when he tells his cousin that:
"I have left those that I love as my own life behind and risked everything and endured
many hardships to get here. I want to make enough to live easier and do some good with,
before I return."
These same thoughts no doubt inspired the majority of those who made the trek to the gold fields they were not intending to stay, but planned to make some money and return to their origins.
Passage to California
On May 11, 1849 Shufelt sailed out of New York harbor headed for the Isthmus of Panama (at the
time a part of Columbia). Although he experienced a few days of sea sickness, he describes the
voyage as enjoyable. We pick up his story as he makes his way across the isthmus to the Pacific
Ocean hoping to find passage on a ship bound for San Francisco:
"(We) proceeded up the river in canoes rowed by the natives, and enjoyed the scenery &
howling of the monkeys & chattering of Parrots very much. We pitched our tents at
Gorgona & most of our party stayed there several weeks. S. Miller & myself went on to
Panama to look out for a chance to get up to San Francisco. Of our ill success you have
probably been informed & consequently of our long stay there, & of the deaths in our
party. Yes, here Mr. Crooker, J. Miller & L. Alden yielded up their breath to God who gave
it.
After many delays & vexations, we at length took passage on a German ship & set sail
again on our journey to the Eldorado of the west. We went south nearly to the Equator,
then turned west, the weather was warm, the winds light & contrary for our course. Our
ship was a slow sailer & consequently our passage was long & tedious. One of the sailors fell
from the rigging into the water & it was known that he could not swim, so the excitement
was great. Ropes, planks and every thing that could be got hold of was thrown to him. He
caught a plank & got on it, a boat was lowered & soon they had him on board again. He
was much frightened, but not much hurt. We had one heavy squall of wind & rain, that
tore the sails & broke some of the yards in pieces, & gave us a quick step motion to keep
upon our feet, but soon all was right again & we were ploughing through the gentle Pacific
at the rate of ten knots pr hour.
On to the Gold Fields
"We hired an ox team to carry our baggage & started for this place then called Hangtown,
from the fact that three persons had been hung here for stealing & attempting to murder.
Ten miles from the river we passed Sutters fort, an old looking heap of buildings
surrounded by an high wall of unburnt brick, & situated in the midst of a pleasant fertile
plain, covered with grass and a few scattering oaks, with numerous tame cattle & mules.
We walked by the wagon & at night cooked our suppers, rolled our blankets around us &
lay down to rest on the ground, with nothing but the broad canopy of the heavens over us
& slept soundly without fear or molestation. After leaving the plains we passed over some
hills that looked dry & barren being burnt up by the sun & the long droughts that we have
here. We reached this place at night on the fourth day, & in the morning found ourselves in
the midst of the diggings, being surrounded by holes dug.
We pitched our tents, shouldered our picks & shovels & with pan in hand sallied forth to
try our fortunes at gold digging. We did not have very good success being green at mining,
but by practice & observation we soon improved some, & found a little of the shining
metal."
Getting the Gold
"It is found along the banks of the streams & in the beds of the same, & in almost every
little ravine putting into the streams. And often from 10 to 50 ft. from the beds up the
bank. We sometimes have to dig several feet deep before we find any, in other places all the
dirt & clay will pay to wash, but generally the clay pays best. If there is no clay, then it is
found down on the rock. All the lumps are found on the rock--& most of the fine gold. We
tell when it will pay by trying the dirt with a pan. This is called prospecting here. If it will
pay from six to 12 1/2 pr pan full, then we go to work. Some wash with cradles some
with what is called a tom & various other fixings. But I like the tom best of any thing that I
have seen.
It is a box or trough about 8 or 9 feet long, some 18 in. wide & from 5 to 6 in. high, with
an iron sieve in one end punched with 1/2 in. holes. Underneath this is placed a ripple or
box with two ripples across it. The tom is then placed in an oblique position, the water is
brought on by means of a hose. The dirt, stone, clay & all is then thrown in & stirred with
a shovel until the water runs clear, the gold & finer gravel goes through the sieve & falls in
the under box & lodges above the ripples. Three men can wash all day without taking this
out as the water washes the loose gravel over and all the gold settles to the bottom. One
man will wash as fast as two can pick & shovel it in, or as fast as three rockers or cradles."
Life in Camp: "There is a good deal of sin and wickedness going on here"
Shufelt lived in a cabin with six other miners. The cabin had windows, a fireplace and an oven. The
miners' diet was poor with the result that many suffered from disease, particularly scurvy. Shufelt
himself fell seriously ill, became deranged and was not expected to live but recovered in a week's
time. He describes life in camp:
"Many, very many, that come here meet with bad success & thousands will leave their
bones here. Others will lose their health, contract diseases that they will carry to their
graves with them. Some will have to beg their way home, & probably one half that come
here will never make enough to carry them back. But this does not alter the fact about the
gold being plenty here, but shows what a poor frail being man is, how liable to
disappointments, disease & death.
There is a good deal of sin & wickedness going on here, Stealing, lying, Swearing, Drinking,
Gambling & murdering. There is a great deal of gambling carried on here. Almost every
public House is a place for Gambling, & this appears to be the greatest evil that prevails
here. Men make & lose thousands in a night, & frequently small boys will go up & bet $5 or
10 & if they lose all, go the next day & dig more. We are trying to get laws here to
regulate things but it will be very difficult to get them executed."
References:
Mr. Shufelt's letter is part of the collection of the Library of Congress A letter from a gold miner,
Placerville, California, March, 1850; Holliday, J.S. Rush for Riches: Gold Fever and the Making of
California (1999).
Post Script: Filling in the Blanks:
Since publishing this eyewitness account we have heard from a descendant of Mr. Shufelt who
provided some additional information. His first name was Sheldon and he was born in 1818. He
married his wife Margaret in 1844 and they had a son in 1847.
Returning home from the goldfields, Sheldon was captured by Spanish bandits while crossing the
Panama isthmus. He was confined and held for ransom. He managed to escape and make his way
home but he had contracted a tropical disease from which he died in 1852 at age 34. His wife,
Margaret, died in 1861 at age 42.